RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

The 34-year-old escaped without a scratch, but dramatic video footage showed just how close the incident could have been to a tragedy.

The shark's fin is seen approaching Fanning, then the surfer being knocked from his board.

'I was about to start paddling again and I had this instinct that someone was behind me,' Fanning said.

Fanning, 34, was competing in the final heat of a world tour event at Jeffreys Bay in the country's Eastern Cape province when a looming black fin appeared in the water behind him

He fought back against the shark, escaping from the terrifying scene without injury

Australian pro-surfer Mick Fanning was attacked by a shark measuring four to five metres in length

'I saw the whole thing just thrashing around ... I punched it a couple of times, but I felt like it was dragging me under water.

'Then all of a sudden my leg rope broke and I was swimming and screaming.'

Fanning's manager Ronnie Blakey said he feared the worst as he watched the attack unfold

Water patrol crews sped towards Fanning as he frantically swam for the shore.

'I was swimming in and I had this thought 'what if comes for another go at me', so I turned around, so I could at least see it, and before I knew it the boat was there, the jetskis were there. I just can't believe it.'

Fanning's rival in the finals, fellow Australian Julian Wilson, was in the water at the time of the attack and broke down in tears as he described watching the incident unfold.

'It came up and he was wrestling it, I saw the whole thing, then I saw he got knocked off his board and then like a little wave popped up and I just thought, he’s gone, he’s gone under,' Wilson said.

'And I felt like I couldnt get there quick enough.'

Fanning's manager Ronnie Blakey said he feared the worst as he watched the attack unfold.

'At one point I was sitting on beach and I was thinking we’re watching a three-time world champion die here, that was the reality of the situation,' Mr Blakey told Triple M's The Grill Team.

'At worst I was thinking if he isn't dead maybe he's lost a limb.'

Mr Blakey said Fanning tried to warn Wilson after he came up for air.

‘Once the shark was up on him and he broke free it actually bit through his leg rope so he lost his board, he was paddling towards shore and he was then screaming out to his rival in the final Julian telling him to get to shore,' he said.

'To Julian’s credit, just a hero effort, he actually started paddling towards Mick, unsure whether Mick was in trouble and if he was safe so he was powering towards Mick in the line-up.'

Fanning's manager Ronnie Blakey said he feared the worst as he watched the attack unfold

U.S. surfing champion Kelly Slater shared an emotional embrace with Fanning after the attack, and said he was shocked that the Australian escaped unharmed.

'I'm halfway between crying and laughing because he got so lucky. I'm lost for words to be honest,' Slater said.

'We almost just watched our friend get eaten by a shark and I'm just blown away that there's no damage at all.'

Mr Blakey said Fanning was 'wigged out' and said he did not believe the surfer would compete again in South Africa.

But he said he thought there was a chance Fanning could get back in the water at the World Surf League's next event in Tahiti in August.

'I think Mick will regroup, he’s got about a month until the wave in Tahiti,' he said.

The WSL announced shortly after the incident that the competition would not continue

'I think Mick will pull it together, I think he’s going to have a strong half to the back end of the season, and really everyone at the event believes he is the man to beat in 2015.'

The WSL announced shortly after the incident that the competition would not continue in South Africa.

'The safety of our athletes is a priority for the WSL and, after discussions with both finalists, we have decided to cancel the remainder of competition at the J-Bay Open,' a statement read.

WSL commissioner Kieren Perrow said he wasn't aware of any other professional surf competitions in which a competitor had being attacked.

'It's something that I don't think we'll ever see again, hopefully, in this sport,' Perrow said.

'We're just so happy to see (Fanning) still safe and alive. That could have been a really terrible outcome.'